Swing



l. F. GUSHMAN.

swlN'G.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.28. 1919.

' Patentei Oct. 18, 1921.

XU/OM A PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH F. GUSHMAN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

SWING.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

Application filed November 28, 1919. Serial No. 341,005.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JosErH F. GUSHMAN, a citizen of the United States,residin in Toledo, county of Lucas, and State of hio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Swings, of which the followin@ isa specification.

ly invention has reference more particularly to a swing which is offlexible construction so as to be operated by body pressure against theback thereof, and of collapsible form so that it may be readily foldedin a compact condition.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a swing, the partsof which are held together by the suspending ropes or cables, and havinggreater flexibility than swings of this character heretoforeconstructed; to provide a swing wherein the rocking movement is effectedby body pressure against the back of the swing acting upon the rearsuspending ropes or cables; to provide a construction in which theswinging of the back effects a displacement of the rear suspending ropeswithout a corresponding displacement of the front ropes; to provide alateral bracing of the front portions of the swing, and in general, toprovide an improved swing of this character which is inexpensive, easierto operate, and more comfortable than those heretofore provided.

On the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a swing embodying myimprovements, and

Fig. 2 a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates the bottomor seat of the swing, which consists of side rails 2, having slats 3extending therebetween and each rail 2 has a front and rear opening 4 Yand 5 respectively through which the supporting rope or cable 6 ispassed. One of these supporting ropes 6 is provided at each side of theswing, and each is supported intermediate of its ends in the usualmanner on hooks or hangers at a distance above the swing, and theopposite ends of each rope 6 are inserted down through the apertures 4and 5 respectively and knotted thereunder as at 7, or otherwise arrangedto prevent withdrawal of the ropes from the apertures 4 and 5 andsupport the swing seat thereon. The back of the swing is constructed inany suitable manner, as for example with top and bottom cross pieces 8and 9 respectively, with slats 10 therebetween and end strips 11. Eachend strip 11 has a post section 12 secured thereto or formed as a partthereof and extending only part way up the seat back as shown, and eachpost section 12 has a longitudinal opening 13 through which the rearlength of the rope 6 is inserted. A similar post section 14 is insertedon the fr ont length of each rope 6, being provided with a longitudinalopening 15 for this purpose, and the two post sections 12l and 14 l areof suitable length to support an arm rest 16 on the upper ends thereofin the desired position. This arm rest has an aperture 17 at the rearend for the rope, and a notch 18 at the inner side of the arm whichloosely embraces the side member 11 of the back for retaining the frontend of the arm rest 16 inthe proper position with reference to the swingback and seat, and there is an elongated slot 19 at the forward end ofeach arm through which the front length of the supporting rope 6 ispassed.

vWith the construction just described, the parts of the swing are heldtogether by the ropes 6, and because of the termination of theconnection of the rear lengths of the ropes with the back portions ofthe swing just above the tops of the post sections 12 at a pointsubstantially midway between the top and bottom of the seat back, aleverage is affordedV on the rear lengths of the ropes sov so that therear ropes are more easily displaced by pressure of the swing occupantagainst the back of the seat, to effect a swinging operation of theswing, and a more resilient or easily yielding' back provided than ifthe ropes were connected to the top of the back. When the occupant leansback the seat is pressed rearwardly, as for example to the positionindicated at 2O in Fig. 2, thereby changing the center of gravity andmoving the swing forwardly, and these operations when repeated givesuccessive impulses which efl-ect the desired swinging movement of theswing. As the seat swings rearwardly the seat back oscillates forwardlyto the position indicated by dotted lines at 21 in Fig. 2. The endstrips 11v of the back are not secured to the arms 16, but are merelyheld enga-ged in the notches 1S of the arms 16 by reason of the rearlengths of the ropes 6 holding the aperture 17 of the arm substantiallyin alinement with the opening lof the arms 16 thus avoided.

13 through the post 12. This connection permits relative movement of thearms 16 and end strips 11 in a vertical plane, but on account of thelength of the notch 18 and the width of the strip 11 engaged therein,

relative swinging movement in a horizontal,

planey is prevented and lateral displacement The front ends of the arms16 rest loosely on the posts 14, and the slots 19 through which thefront lengths of the ropes are passed are of sufficient length to permitthe front ends of the arms 16 to slide forwardly and rearwardly over thetops of the posts 14, thus permitting swinging movement of the backportions of the swing without effecting a corresponding displacement ofthe front lengths of the ropes 6. As the back moves back to the positionshown by the dotted lines at 20 in Fig. 2, the arms 16 move rearwardlytherewith and the forward ends of the arms slide over the top of theposts 111 without affecting the position of the forward lengths of theropes 6, on account of the slots 19, thus enabling the back to be morereadily moved and affording an easier support for the back. When theentire swing moves rearwardly, however, the back is moved forwardly, asfor example to the position shown at 21, but in so doing the rear end ofthe slot 19 immediately engages the forward length of the rope andcauses a displacement thereof, thus offering a resistance to extremeforward swinging of the seat back and retaining same in a comfortablerelative position with respect to the seat 1.

From the foregoing it will be observed that I have provided a swing inwhich the back is rendered more readily yielding and consequently morecomfortable than in swings heretofore constructed, this beingaccomplished by extending the back up above the point of Aconnection ofthe rear lengths of the ropes with the rear of the swing, and also bythe provision of the slots 19 which enable the back to be easilyadjusted rearwardly without effecting a corresponding displacement ofthe front ropes.

For shipping or storing, the swing may be readily folded in a compactform by lifting the side arms 16 and folding the seat back over the seat1, and folding the posts 14 under the folded back, after which the arms16 are laid down on top of the folding swing. While I have shown anddescribed myinvention in a particular form, I am aware that variouschanges and modifications may be made without departing from theprinciples of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined bythe appended claims.

I claim as my invention: 1'. In a swing, the combination of a seatsupported ,by fiexible members at the front and rear, a backhaving afixed extension at ,each ,end telescoped on the rear flexible supportingmembers so as to be oscillatably held thereby at the rear edge of theseat, said extensions-being terminated below the middle of the back, andhaving arm rests loosely supported on the upper ends thereof, and heldthereagainst by the forward inclination of the rear flexible members.

2. In a swing, the combination of a seat having flexible supportingmembers at the front and rear thereof, front and rear posts telescopedon said members above the seat, arm rests having apertures engaging saidmembers, and loosely supported on the upper extremities of the front andrear posts, and a back support interposed'between the rear members andfixed to and extending up above the rear posts. i

3. In a swing, the combination of a seat hay/'ing flexible supportingmembers at the front and rear thereof, front and rear posts' telescopedon saidmembers above the seat, a back support fixed to and extending upabove the rear posts,y arm rests engaging the front and rear postsA andloosely interlocked with end portions of the back support so as to beheld thereby against late-ral oscillation.

4. In a swing, the combination of a seat having flexible supporting'members at the front and rear thereof, a back secured to therear membersabove the seat so as to oscillate at the rear edge of the seat, and armrests loosely connecting the rear members adjacent the back support withthe front members, so as topermit displacement of the rear memberswithout correspondingly displacing thefront members.

5. In a swing, the combination of a seat having flexible supportingmembers at the front and rear thereof, front and rear posts telescopedon the respective members above the seat, aback support secured to andextending up above the rear posts, arm rests connected with the rearmembers atthe top of the rear supporting posts and supported at theirforward ends on the front posts, said arm rests being provided withslots at their forward ends engaging the front members so as to permitswinging of the` back support and rearward displacement of the rearmembers ywithout effecting a corresponding` displacement of the frontmembers. n

6. In a swing, the combination of a seat having an arm rest at each endextending from front to rear thereof, a spacer at each end of the varmrestinterposed between the seat and arm rest for holding the latter atan elevation above the seat,'a.pair of flexible supporting members ateach end of the seat, and connected respectively to the front and rearthereof, and having the spacers and arms engaged thereon and heldthereby in superposedrelation, and a backextending @tween therear'spacers and fixed thereto So vfront and rear members above therespective as to be oscillatably held at the rear edge of the seat bythe engagement of the rear spacers with the flexible Supporting members.

7. In a swing, the combination of a seat having flexible supportingmembers at the front and rear thereof, a back extending between the rearsupporting members and oscillatably held thereby at the rear edge of theseat, an arm rest at each end of the seat at an elevation th-ereabove,and extending between the front and rear flexible members, and having anelongated bearing engaging with the end of the back so as to be heldthereby against lateral swinging movement with respect to the back.

8. In a swing, the combination of a seat having flexible supportingmembers at the iront and rear thereof, a back extending between andconnected with the rear supporting members so as to be oscillatably heldthereby at the rear edge of the seat, and an elevated arm rest at eachend of the seat loosely connecting the front and rear supporting membersso that the latter may be displaced rearwardly independently of thefront supporting members.

9. In a swing, the combination of a seat having a pair of flexiblesupporting members at the front and rear thereof, a back extendingbetween and connected with the rear supporting members so as to beoscillatably held thereby at the rear edge of the seat, an elevatedarmrest at each end of the seat having the opposite ends connectedrespectively with the front and rear supporting members, said connectioncomprising an elongated slot in the arm rest engaging one of theflexible supporting members so as to permit displacement of one of thesupporting members forwardly or'rearwardly without effecting acorresponding displacement of the other supporting member.

JOSEPH F. GUSHMAN.

